United They Stand
Taller Than Thor
The Birds' Sapphire Challenge Cup dream would end in the semifinals against United Legends FC, as the Legends won this derby held at BuddyBoys' Love Street Stadium. Grilled would possess a firepower that they had not wielded for ages with the arrival of
Gústav Thoroddsen and
Evandro La Face, but it would soon be apparent that the two debutants would need some more time to truly gel with their teammates. It would instead be the Legends to disassemble an overly-forward Grilled team, and despite some shining individual moments and a partial comeback, they would prevail at the very end.
The Legends had won both previous games against Grilled Birds as both clubs contested the S-League in Season 72, and the passage of fourteen years would see no holdovers from that era in both starting lineups, though
Chan Ze Han would be available on Grilled's bench. Other than national playmaker Fred Cui, the Legends' greatest icon had to be Brazilian striker Xavante de Deus - but it was arguable neither of those who had the biggest share in their victory today. Instead, it was ex-Dominician Republic sweeper Javier Enasteasu who got the most important assignment: to take Thoroddsen out of the game.
Much had been expected of the Iceland star, but the weather - and humidity in particular - did not seem to agree with him, and he was clearly a couple of notches below his best, to his ardent followers.
Evandro La Face fared little better with several bad touches in succession, and it was soon clear that the Spaniard was not sued to Singapore either. Their opponents had fewer such concerns, and especially not for the Jurong born-and-bred Fred Cui, who brooked no resistance with his dash from the centre circle in the 21st minute. Even
Ha Qicai looked lost against such pace, and Italian winger Ruggero Daddario found himself invitingly open with
Dimitris Germanakos drawn out, and Cui obliged with the assist for 1-0.
Actually it was not like the Legends were entirely purring either, with Dutch newcomer Tiemen Kasanmoeseni for instance occasionally finding himself on a different wavelength to his mates, given that this was just his seventh start for the Legends since leaving G.S.G. Allegria. No particular concordance was necessary when
Gandhik Chitre abandoned his man to double up on Koni Boltshauser three minutes after the opener, though, with Boltshauser far too good a player not to notice the obvious pass. Ha tried to salvage the situation, but he slid in a fraction too late, as the ball got to Kasanmoeseni - two-nil!
This was going as badly as
Tian Yonghang could have imagined, but the Grilled head coach would perk up shortly, as his men began to impose themselves. Truth be told, his tactics were about as good as any other could have come up with, the personal attention awarded Thoroddsen notwithstanding. Grilled were still poking holes in the Legends' back four whenever space presented itself, as was the case when
Chia Kwang Tse fought his way out of a bind in the 29th. A full-on rush into the penalty area as Chia readied his right foot had
Aw Keng Chuan presented with an obvious lob, but the agility of Mexican custodian Pastor Obrajero won out.
The Legends fans would be singing about their Pastor saving again soon enough, as
Gústav Thoroddsen finally gave Enasteasu the slip 37 minutes in. The 24 year-old was too good to be contained indefinitely, and a nifty sleight of foot not only threw his nemesis off, but also had former Singapore international Abd Jamil Wardi entirely helpless. Alas, Obrajero got a hand to Thoroddsen's drive, the Legends won a free-kick just outside Grilled's box from the long clearance, and Fred Cui banged it into the top right corner with Germanakos not at fault.
Grilled's woes were far from over as
Federico Parada would have to go off after Ruggero Daddario's rough-and-ready challenge took Parada between his legs, but this was perhaps a blessing in disguise.
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan could hardly be said to be an upgrade on Parada, but his physicality was something that Sami Tammi had far more problems with, comparatively speaking. As if to hammer that fact home,
Orest Tokarz would force Ferzan's first cross home with no pretense at grace, and nearly did it again on
Lim An Keng's through pass in the next minute, with Enasteasu having to risk an uncertain interception for once.
Despite getting one back, the Birds were very much at a disadvantage still, and
Tian Yonghang would fall back on one of his oldest weapons - and friend - for the second half.
Evandro La Face could hardly have complained at being withdrawn, as
Chan Ze Han took his position at left attack for the second half. Walenty Tłustochowicz was not sleeping on the job either for the Legends, as he took the carded Ruggero Daddario off, for German replacement Fabian Welsch.
United Legends FC were purposefully slowing the pace already, which was not unreasonable given their two-goal cushion, until
Gústav Thoroddsen got one more back in the 59th minute. True, Enasteasu had stuck tight to him for perhaps ninety-eight percent of the time, but Thoroddsen only required an instant to stamp his class. With
Orest Tokarz making himself a nuisance, Thoroddsen dropped off Enasteasu's shoulder to receive a forward pass, that he then teed up and volleyed beyond Obrajero before the latter could move.
That was the goal that the Birds support were waiting for, but hopes for a quick equalizer were dashed as the Legends kept faith with their gameplan. Holding the ball in one's own half had often been a dicey proposition against this vibrant young Birds team, but Legends executed it better than most. Not only that, they had a refined sense of when it was safe to test Grilled's centrebacks, and forced
Aw Keng Chuan into a foul just a couple of yards outside the box 68 minutes in. Fred Cui stepped up again, but Germanakos saw it coming this time, and tipped the fierce shot over with some effort.
Grilled hopes would soon rest with Thoroddsen, a testament to his evident skills and on-the-ball charisma, but Enasteasu would just about keep pace with his quarry to the bitter end as the passes flooded in. With time running short, the Birds had to throw caution to the wind, and one wondered what might have been had
Chia Kwang Tse's bouncer with seven minutes left skipped off the turf a little to the left, instead of coming back off the far post. It was too late to ruminate, sadly, and Fabian Welsch roared in celebration as he struck Grilled on the counter a few minutes later, which was always going to happen.
There was even time for Fred Cui to sling a fifth past a despairing Germanakos in the second minute of injury time, with some of the Grilled players barely managing to stay upright at this point. They would have to accept the result as Gergely Dezamics blew for time shortly after, and given the three-goal margin, they could not even argue that it was close.